Friday, February 27, 2009

Some kind of beer tasting is going on through Sunday at the Concordia Ale House on NE 33rd and Killingsworth. I wasn't much interested in running the gambit of taster glasses or voting but I had a slight desire to drop in, at least get out of the house for awhile. I'd typically drive in these situations but a quick peek outside revealed decent weather and for a February evening in Portland that cannot be ignored. I pedaled the bmx bike over there and it turned out to be quite an easier ride than I figured - roughly four miles. I need to pedal around more often for the sake of additional exercise.

Headed to La Bonita afterward to meet up with Slo over some Carne Asada and Pastor tacos. Amazing as usual and the girl who works behind the counter is damned hot. Too bad she's probably 18 years old at best. The picture above is my bike locked out front of the shop while waiting for Slo, but it's also to dimly showcase the apparel of the gent with the dog.

The Northwest trips me out, still. All weather shoes and hiking boots are so prominent here and it feels like everyone has the exact same North Face jacket. You know the one - it's black with two distinctly different materials in the construction that split the jacket horizontally in the middle. In general, the "mountain look" dominates most people's fashion choices in this city. Coming from the land of shorts and sandals, I think I will always find this weird. Mainly because shorts and sandals make sense in a sunny and warm environment because sunshine and heat is everywhere. But here, sure it rains but we're in the city. We're not going to suddenly lose our footing walking down a sidewalk and need super grippy mountain treads to save us from certain disaster, nor are we going to walk miles upon miles in the rain to require all weather shoes. The puddles really aren't that thick either but everyone dresses for elemental battle, daily.